Fairphone’s modular 5G smartphone proves the latest tech can be made sustainably and with circularity at the core. Fairphone 4 offers an unprecedented five-year warranty, is a unique electronic waste-neutral handset and contains fairly sourced materials, challenging the electronics industry to take a more responsible approach. It is easy to repair and is designed to last for longer than the average smartphone.

Every year, 1.4 billion phones are sold worldwide, and every year, we throw away millions of mobile phones: most aren’t built to last or to be repaired, and consumers are constantly encouraged to swap a perfectly good phone for the latest model. Norway is no different:  people switch out their phone somewhere between every 2-3 years depending on their age group. For the consumer to hand in the mobile phone and the charger for proper recycling is one of the most important environmental measures one can take for a more ethical life cycle for the mobile phone. Many of the mobile phone's ethical issues are related to expensive raw materials and environmental pollution from mobile components. Unfortunately, Norwegians are not so good at recycling mobile phones. Almost 2.5 million mobile phones are sold annually, but the recycling is not even 1 percent of this. Elretur, Norway's largest recycling company for electrical and electronic waste, says that most people have a drawer with old mobile phones at home instead. Only every fifth Norwegian does not have an old mobile phone in the drawer, while every second Norwegian has 1-2 mobile phones at home, while every fourth Norwegian has more than three mobile phones lying around.

Fairphone has as their goal to build a deeper understanding between people and their products, and to drive conversations about what “fair” really means.

One of their latest solutions is the launch of the Fairphone 4, which has been awarded a perfect score for repairable design. The consumer can easily switch out the battery or display. No part of Fairphone 4 is glued shut, so one can choose to easily repair it yourself with a standard screwdriver. The company will compensate users’ phones and spare parts by responsibly recycling one phone (or an equal amount of small electronic waste) for every Fairphone 4 sold. Alternatively, Fairphone will take back and refurbish at least one other phone to prevent the production of a new one. Fairphone has expanded its list of fair materials, adding six new ones, and is now focusing on 14 key materials from sustainable and fairer sources. On top of this Fairphone developed its innovative living wage programme and aims to expand partnershipswith strategic suppliers to improve working conditions for their employees and the phone comes in Eco-friendly packaging.